A cartoon doesn't start when we start drawing
A personalized caricature is not just about turning a photograph into a drawing.
Before you start drawing, you have to find out what makes the person you are going to caricature special: their profession, their hobbies, their objects, their places, their stories and, above all, the idea that the commission wants to convey.
From there begins the creative process.
We receive the photographs, we talk about the idea and we make decisions about the composition, the pose, the environment and all those elements that can make the caricature have its own personality.
Because one custom caricature should not look like a template applied to a photograph.
It must be meant for that person.
EVERYTHING STARTS WITH AN IDEA
Photography is the starting point, but it is not the result.
First we look for the traits that make the protagonist recognizable and we think how to exaggerate them without losing their identity. Then we study what elements can tell something about that person and how we can integrate them into the scene.
In some orders the client arrives with a very concrete idea.
In others, it only tells us who the person is, what he likes or what relationship he has with the one who commissions the cartoon.
From there we started to build.
THE BOCETO
Before the final drawing we do tests.
We test different poses, proportions, compositions and elements to check what works and what doesn't.
The sketch allows us to modify an idea when we are still in time to do so.
One pose can work better than another. One object can bring humor or personality, while another can be too distracting. An element may seem interesting separately and yet not work within the composition.
That is why the sketch is not simply a pre-drawing.
It is the tool that allows us to build the caricature before finishing it.
EXAGERATION
A cartoon needs exaggeration.
We do not seek to reproduce the photograph accurately or simply turn it into a drawing.
We look for what traits define that person and take them to a graphic language of their own.
The exaggeration can be in the face, in the expression, in the proportions, in the posture or in the situation that we are counting.
If there is no exaggeration, there is no caricature.
Photography helps us get to know the protagonist.
Drawing is what turns that information into caricature.
WHEN AN IDEA BECOMES A DESIGN
Here appears one of the parts that brings more personality to our cartoons.
Many times it is not enough to draw the person. We have to invent what surrounds it.
It can be a tool, a machine, a vehicle, an impossible object, an absurd modification of something real or any other element related to the character.
We call that part of the process Fantastic Cacharrería.
They are elements that we imagine and draw for a concrete caricature.
We do not use a library of prepared objects to place them interchangeably in different works. Each element is thought of according to the story, the person and the composition.
Sometimes we start from a real object.
Sometimes we modify it.
And other times, directly, we have to invent it.
Do you have an idea for your cartoon?
Tell us about it and we'll see how to turn it into a scene.
Inventing is also part of the drawing
When we need to create something that doesn't exist, we first have to imagine how it works, what form it has, and how it fits into the scene.
That process can give rise to machines, vehicles, tools or small details that only exist in that caricature.
And that's where illustration ceases to be simply a caricatured portrait and begins to become a scene.
DESIGN, TEST AND MODIFIATE
Once we have an idea, we develop it through different tests.
Not everything we draw ends up being part of the final version.
Some elements disappear.
Others change shape.
Sometimes a small modification makes the whole composition work much better.
That is why we also show a part of the process: Because behind a finished cartoon there are many decisions that are not always seen in the final result.
THE COMPOSITION
When we already know the elements that we are going to use, it is time to decide where to place each one.
The protagonist must remain the center of the scene, but everything around him must help to tell something.
A vehicle, a tool, a stage, an object or a small detail can completely change the meaning of an image.
That's why it's not about filling the caricature with things.
It's about finding the right things.
The composition must make everything seem to belong to the same story.
FROM BOCETO TO FINAL DRAWING
Once the decision on the composition has been made, we make the final drawing.
Here begins a much more detailed phase of work: drawing, definition of shapes, expressions, elements, clothes, objects, backgrounds and all the details that the image needs.
Even if the end result is digital, drawing is still a process of creation.
We do not start from an automatically generated image and then modify it.
Each cartoon is drawn and constructed individually.
WHAT'S BEHIND EVERY CHARACTER
Every assignment is different.
That's why we don't have a collection of prepared poses, bodies, and objects that we simply combine with each other.
We don't use artificial intelligence to generate our cartoons.
We do not trace photographs to turn them into drawings.
We do not use templates to automatically build each order.
Photography serves as a reference to know the person.
The rest is developed from the idea and the drawing process.
Each cartoon is created for a specific person and for a specific story.
A PART OF THE PROCESS WE WANT TO SHOW EVERY TIME MORE
Concept Art and Fantastic Cacharrería
Behind many of our cartoons there is something that has so far been hidden within the drawing itself.
They are the vehicles, machines, tools, objects, artifacts and other inventions that we design for each scene.
We want to dedicate a specific space soon to show that work.
A gallery where they can be seen sketches, designs, concept art, invented objects, modified vehicles and other creations developed for our cartoons.
Not as a collection of isolated objects, but as a sample of the process of imagination and design behind many of our illustrations.
A PERSONALIZED CHARACTERISTICS IS NOT A TEMPLATE
Each person has a different story.
It can be something related to your profession, a hobby, a vehicle, a filmA journey, an anecdote or simply an idea that at first seems impossible to draw.
Precisely for this reason we are interested in working from ideas.
Because many times the most interesting part of a cartoon appears when we start to ask ourselves:
What if we do this?
What if we invented that?
What if we turn that object into something else?
That's where the funniest part of the process begins.
DO YOU HAVE A ? IDEA
You don't need to have a perfectly defined scene ready.
You can tell us who the person is, what he likes, what his profession is, what things identify him or simply explain the idea you have in your head.
From there we can develop the proposal and find a way to turn it into a caricature.
Tell us your idea and let's start drawing it.
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